Island students walk out to protest ICE

Published 11:19 am Friday, February 13, 2026

In a spirited display of opposition to the Trump administration and the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents nationwide, hundreds of students walked out of Vashon’s public schools and took to the streets at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11.

The protest by 300-plus McMurray Middle School and Vashon High School students began as they burst out of the schools’ doors carrying colorful cardboard signs and then proceeded to Vashon Highway to walk north into town, chanting “ICE out” along the way.

In town, the young activists filled the sidewalks at the intersection of the highway and Bank Road, continuing a chorus of chants and waving signs with messages including “I prefer my ICE crushed,” and “Immigrants built America.”

Amid the throng, a high school junior, Emma, identified herself as one of the coordinators of the VHS walkout, but gave credit to its key organizers — four eighth grade girls, inspired by recent school walkouts in the Seattle area, who quickly mobilized their classmates.

One of those organizers, Emma said, had told her, “We don’t have a lot of power, but we want to do something.” Surveying the crowded street corners, filled with passionate youth, Emma added, “Boy, did they do something.”

The protest in town lasted almost three hours, with many motorists signaling their support by blaring their car horns as they passed through the four-way intersection lined by students. In the morning’s most rowdy action, several students took turns dumping bags of ice into the intersection, urging drivers to “crush ICE.”

Scattered throughout the crowd were some adults, including district parents and other concerned islanders who had heard about the walkout and came to town to ensure that students remained safe.

One of the parents, Danielle Rose, pointed out that while the majority of passersby had been supportive of the protest, she had seen some drivers speed through the intersection in an aggressive and dangerous way.

Rose praised the students for their activism. “They self-organized, texting each other,” she said. “They organized better than adults do.”

King County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Nicholas Vipperman was also a visible presence throughout the protest.

He and another deputy would keep close watch, he said from his parked patrol car, as a long line of students passed by Mom’s Deli on their walk to town. Expressing his belief that the activity was too dangerous for middle school students, he said he was glad the school district had immediately contacted KCSO upon learning about the students’ plans.

Throughout the protest in town, Vipperman could also be seen circulating among the clusters of students.

Schools’ response

About 40 students of Harbor School, a private school located north of Vashon’s town center, made an impromptu decision to join their public school contemporaries on Wednesday afternoon, leaving their classrooms at about 1 p.m., said assistant head of school Jolene McCauley.

Quick advice from a teacher, who saw the kids begin to walk out and stopped them by saying they needed signs if they they were going to protest, gave the staff about 15 minutes to help the studentes prepare for the walkout.

During that time, the teacher helped the students make signs to carry on their march to Ober Park. A teacher also accompanied the kids along the way and then back to school, McCauley said.

McCauley, who had been visiting another off-island school on Wednesday, said she had asked her students on Thursday about their spur-of-the-moment protest. She recounted that a fifth grader named Lockie told her, “It felt exciting and important, like we were doing something that mattered. I remember thinking, if I don’t make this happen, who will?”

Administrators and teachers at McMurray and VHS had more warning, as student organizers had posted messages on social media channels calling for a walkout starting on Sunday morning.

The school district sent an email on Tuesday morning to all district families, informing them of the students’ plans and encouraging family dialogue about “making thoughtful choices and understanding both their rights and responsibilities as members of our learning community.”

The email warned that any student’s decision to leave class without prior approval would be treated as an unexcused absence, and that once students left the campus, the district could not supervise their actions.

“Our students have a right to peacefully protest according to the First Amendment as well as district policy and state law,” interim superintendent Jo Moccia said on Thursday morning. “We notified parents when we heard there may be a walkout and also notified the sheriff’s office. Safety is always our first priority.”

The school district, Moccia said, recorded a total of 415 absences for its elementary, middle and high school students at the beginning of the school day on Wednesday — a number she said might be explained in part by some families attending the Seahawks Super Bowl victory parade in Seattle, which also took place that day. But at least some other parents, she said, had likely decided to keep their children at home due to the planned walkout.

An organizer’s perspective

Reached by text on Wednesday evening, Avis, one of the four McMurray students who organized the walkout, described the day.

The protest, she said, was an empowering experience that made her feel “united with her classmates in their thoughts about our government’s current state.”

She said she understood why some adults believed that walking out of school was a dangerous thing to do. But she also said she had repeatedly reminded her classmates, via a megaphone as they walked to town, to stay off the road and be careful. She said she was also grateful for the presence of parents and other adult “watchers” in the crowd.

Avis also said that while most people passing signaled support to the protesters, there was also some negative attention.

“People would yell things like, ‘What do you know, you idiot,’” she said. “Or they would flip us off. There were some drivers who were acting irresponsibly, though I’m not totally sure it was intentional. Overall, I don’t think there was an unbearable amount of negativity, just a few party poopers here and there.”

What does Avis hope islanders learned from the student protest?

“I hope we have informed people and educated them about some of the things ICE has done by reading our signs,” she said. “And I hope they can now understand that we won’t be silent or submissive until there is justice for all.”